covenant
by Hinotorihime
Summary: There is a light under the old manor house, and a boy who is holding it. (feliks always keeps his promises.)


There was a demon under the old manor house, and everyone knew it.

They would never admit they knew it, of course. Demons were quite out of style in this enlightened age- the terrible bogeymen of an outdated church, intended only to scare ignorant and illiterate countryfolk into submission. No intelligent person worth their salt would take such tales seriously.

That didn't mean, of course, that guests were permitted to wander the honeycomb of cellars unaccompanied. Becoming lost in the darkness, or tripping and breaking one's ankle-or neck- was quite enough danger even without demonic forces in the mix.

Fortunately, Feliks had very good eyesight.

There was a light under the old manor house, and it was clutched firmly in his hand. It barely illuminated the steps directly in front of him, and the muscles of his eyes were getting strained from squinting at shadows, but he hadn't fallen yet, and the cold dread in his stomach was mounting by the second which meant he was heading the right direction.

(He was still in his fancy clothes from the party. They were a bit difficult to move in, and they itched.)

He kept going. He highly doubted anyone had missed him yet.

 _Who..._

There was a voice in his head, echoey and deep- like if a stone building had a voice.

It must be the demon. He followed the feeling as fast as he could without falling.

 _Who goes there?_

Feliks stopped outside a crumbling door. The chains blocking it were iron and silver and barely at neck-height on him.

Definitely the demon.

He pushed the rotting wood until the door swung open with a dull whine and ducked under the chains into the room. His light went out. It didn't matter. Cool grey light filled the chamber- dim and even, source unlocatable. He blinked a couple of times to get used to it.

"Where are you?" he said aloud, and,

 _Here,_

answered the voice of the demon.

Feliks turned slowly and exhaled. An awed, quiet breath.

It was taller than him. Well, most people were, but not this much taller: the demon was nine feet at least and its horns scraped the ceiling. Shaggy legs bent backward like a goat's- six wings, dark feathers like a beetle's casing- deepset, wicked golden eyes. The saliva dripping from its sharp teeth hissed when it hit the floor.

 _Why art thou here, little human child?_

"I'm almost 20," Feliks said in an annoyed voice. "That's grown-up, for humans, even if _you're_ probably a couple hundred years past it."

The demon fluttered its wings with seeming amusement.

 _I am far older than a few paltry centuries._ _And this place has been mine for more of them than can be counted in any of your languages. And so I ask thee: why hast thou come here into my domain, into the dark and the silence, to my home and my prison?_

"Why else would a human seek out a demon?" Feliks set down the lantern- it wasn't doing him any good anyway- and knelt on the floor in front of the cage. "I want something."

The demon swished its tail across the stone floor.

 _What is thy name?_

Feliks raised an eyebrow.

 _Names must be exchanged in every pact. We cannot bargain without them. My name is-_

It said a collection of syllables that set Feliks's teeth on edge.

"I'm Feliks," he said.

 _A fortunate name. I wish thee luck in the bargaining._

Feliks wasn't sure how to respond to that, so he didn't.

"What can your magic do from here, without me having to let you out? Tell the truth," he added quickly, and the demon snorted.

 _There is much I can do, and little I cannot. My power is not restrained through such a feeble cage as this._

"Good." Feliks took a deep breath and pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket.

He'd read stories. He knew how this worked. You went through every possible way your wish could go wrong and accounted for it. It had taken him days of mulling it over and making lists and worrying.

"My best friend is in a really, really horrible situation at home. I want him out of his current house and separated from his family and living in a physically safe and emotionally healthy situation, without anyone- including him- being harmed physically or emotionally in the process or as a direct or indirect result of him leaving, and without anyone who's not involved getting put into a worse situation than they're already in."

He waited, fidgeting, while the demon clearly examined every word of the request. If it found a loophole he'd forgotten to close, it made no sign of it.

 _Thou art a thorough bargainer._

It bent closer to him, mouth grinning unconvincingly.

 _And what wilt thou give me for this trifling task, thou little lucky one?_

Feliks didn't hesitate.

"You must be hungry, after all these years. You can have me. My body to do whatever you want with."

The demon blinked, long and slow. Then it laughed.

 _To be devoured by my kind is not a pleasant death, boy. Thou wilt scream and writhe beneath my teeth and if thou art as fortunate as thy name, the breath will leave thy body_ _ **before**_ _thy entrails cease to steam in my hands._

"Yes," said Feliks. "I understand that. It'll be really messy and it's going to hurt a lot." He stood and added, "But it's a fair price. A life for a life. I'll let you think about it."

 _Art thou so eager to die?_ said the demon, voice dripping with sarcasm.

Feliks turned back. His teeth gleamed in the darkness.

"I tried to jump off a bridge a month ago," he said lightly, as if he were commenting on the weather, and then left.


End file.
